inside

February 8, 2017 | $1.50 Tech company wins Town manager gets

TIBURON • BELVEDERE • STRAWBERRY $12 million lawsuit raise, housing perk
Named among the nation’s A small Tiburon startup that makes fraud- At his annual performance review, Tiburon
best small weekly newspapers resistant credit cards sued a massive Singa- Town Manager Greg Chanis received a 2.5
2014-2016 General Excellence finalists, National Newspaper Association porean manufacturer for breach of contract. percent raise and a new $750 allowance.
Volume 45, Issue 6 | thearknewspaper.com Page 5 Page 5

Elliot Karlan / For The Ark

At left, a Blue & Gold Fleet commuter ferry is docked adjacent to two Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry Co. vessels at right. Golden Gate Ferry was set to take

Branson
over Blue & Gold’s commuter service, but Angel Island Ferry owner Capt. Maggie McDonogh says Golden Gate’s boats would obstruct hers.

Angel Island Ferry, Tiburon join transfer drops out of

talks as riders plead with town officials
By DEIRDRE McCROHAN
development
the district’s planned takeover of Blue & and planned Jan. 30 takeover of service.
and KEVIN HESSEL
dmccrohan@thearknewspaper.com
———
proposed at
Gold Fleet’s commuter service between
Tiburon and San Francisco.
The meeting took place just days after
After 16 months of negotiations and de-
lays, during which time riders say Blue &
Gold’s commuter service has deteriorated,

seminary
Golden Gate Bridge district officials re- commuters thronged Tiburon Town Hall riders pleaded for Tiburon officials to step
ported that the agency is “no longer under Feb. 1, angry that a last-minute letter from in and help mediate the dispute.
the threat of litigation” after a successful Angel Island Ferry to the Golden Gate Shortly before The Ark went to press
Feb. 6 meeting with Angel Island-Tiburon Bridge, Highway and Transportation Dis- ———
Ferry Co. over safety issues surrounding trict delayed the district’s Jan. 27 final vote See Ferry, page 22 Applicant says it will move
forward with revised project
Unlicensed auction company twice set up in Tiburon more inside By EMILY LAVIN
By MATTHEW HOSE At least one buyer at the Westfield Auctions, also Cops: Tiburon elavin@thearknewspaper.com
———
mhose@thearknewspaper.com Tiburon events logged a com- known as Windsor Auction man punched The Branson School has backed out of
——— plaint about the auctions with the House, is operated by Ronen teenaged girl plans to relocate to the former seminary
A traveling auction company Marin District Attorney’s Office’s Varsha, one of five defendants The 61-year-old Tiburon man site in Strawberry, an “unfortunate” deci-
that set up shop in Tiburon at Consumer Protection Unit, but named in a 2010 civil lawsuit has been arrested after alleg- sion prompted by much of the Strawberry
least twice in 2016 was operat- that complaint was withdrawn claiming that an auction com- edly punching the girl during
a fight with her father in the community’s unwavering opposition to the
ing without a permit and is run when the person got their money pany called Kingston Auctions Strawberry Village parking lot. move, a school official said.
by a man previously indicted on back, according to Deputy Dis- ——— In a Jan. 31 letter, Greg Swart, the chair of
Page 5
accusations of auction fraud. trict Attorney Jeremy Fonseca. See Auctions, page 24 ——— Branson’s board of directors, informed the
school community Branson was abandon-
Yacht club ing the controversial redevelopment project
Belvedere goes from worst to first in tobacco-control rankings must pay to proposed for the former site of the Golden
By MATTHEW HOSE vedere beefed up its smoking reflects the attitude in Belvedere bury utilities Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.
mhose@thearknewspaper.com rules last year to become one of much more than an F does,” said Page 11 Reached by phone that day, Swart said it
——— 21 California cities to receive the Mayor James Campbell. “There ——— has become increasingly obvious the com-
When it comes to smoking American Lung Association’s were some things that we didn’t munity wasn’t willing to back Branson’s
ordinances, Belvedere was the top overall grade of A in the 15th have before that we’re covered on
Tennis courts vision for a Strawberry campus, including
most improved student in 2017. annual State of Tobacco Control now.” may soon need its desire to grow its student body and build
After receiving failing grades report for 2017. ——— reservations ———
for six consecutive years, Bel- “I’m very proud. I think that See Tobacco, page 23 Page 6 See Branson, page 31

Belvedere 11 | Strawberry 13 | Education 15 | Police Logs 20 | In Memoriam 24 | Classifieds 27 Weekend Weather | R Friday 56° 46° | B Saturday 59° 45° | B Sunday 61° 45°
24 NEWS | THE ARK • February 8, 2017 thearknewspaper.com

Auctions, continued from page 1

——— Confronted by The Ark in late January,
was using deceptive marketing tactics and employing un-
Westfield Auctions owner Ronen Varsha at
bonded auctioneers. first asserted the bond was valid and the state
That suit was ultimately settled for $140,000 without any was mistaken. He later emailed a copy of a
of the parties admitting fault.
Last year, Westfield mailed out postcard-sized fliers and
bond application as evidence, but the bond
purchased advertisements in the Marin Independent Journal was not stamped and sealed by the state. He
claiming to be auctioning off “seized assets from law viola- then said the bond was “currently being filed”
tors.” Items advertised for the events included a 42-carat col-
ored sapphire necklace, Chanel handbags and a hand-signed
and that “all issues have been rectified.” The
Andy Warhol lithograph. Secretary of State did later receive Westfield’s
The company — based out of Chatsworth, which is in the bond — but it was rejected in early February.
San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles — held at least two
auctions at The Lodge at Tiburon, one on Aug. 13 and one
on Christmas day. A source who went to the two auctions Fraud allegations
in Tiburon but requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal In 2010 Varsha was named as a defendant in a lawsuit
estimated that more than 50 people attended and estimated in Monterey County. The suit was filed against Kingston
that more than $100,000 in products were sold. Auctions, a company owned by Varsha’s brother Alon Var-
Westfield also distributed at least one other advertisement sha. The Monterey County District Attorney alleged that
for an estate sale at the Bay Club StoneTree in Novato last the company “used deceptive marketing claims touting the
month. nature, origin and value of items being offered at their auc-
However, the bond number listed on the flier and ads was tions,” according to a news release.
not registered with the Secretary of State, meaning the com- “Typically, the defendants promoted their auctions as ‘es-
pany was operating without ever filing a $20,000 surety tate auctions’ involving property pieces worth millions of
bond, as is required under state law to operate as an auction dollars, a representation alleged to be false by the district
company. attorneys,” the release said.
Confronted by The Ark in late January, Varsha at first “The allegation was that this wasn’t estate property, this
asserted the bond was valid and the state was mistaken. He wasn’t what it was advertised to be, and that they knew or
later emailed a copy of a bond application as evidence, but should have known that the appraised value of these pieces
the bond was not stamped and sealed by the state. He then of art (and) jewelry, was deceptive — that they knew it was
said the bond was “currently being filed” and that “all issues untrue,” Monterey County Deputy District Attorney John
have been rectified.” Hubanks, who prosecuted the case, said in an interview.
The Secretary of State did later receive Westfield’s bond An ad for a Westfield Auctions event at The Lodge at Tiburon on The suit went on to claim that, prior to each auction, the
— but it was rejected in early February. Officials there Christmas Day showed the company was selling seized assets in- company would mail “as many as 10,000 post-card size ad-
would not explain why without a written, mailed request, cluding a Chanel handbag, diamond jewelry and 42-carat sapphire. vertisements” and that the auction company was using unli-
and The Ark had not received a response at press time. The state surety bond number listed at the bottom of the ad was
invalid; after being confronted by The Ark, the company applied for censed and unbonded auctioneers.
Told about the issue with the bond, Fonseca, from the Con- The case was settled for $140,000 without any of the de-
a license, and the state denied the application.
sumer Protection Unit, said: “It certainly is worth looking fendants admitting to the allegations.
into.” thing,” said Norman Monteau of American International The settlement included a permanent injunction prohibit-
Gemologists Labs, known as AIG Labs. ing the company from violating civil codes governing auc-
History of complaints, inflated appraisals Monteau also pointed to a similarly named company called tions, or else the company could face criminal charges.
The Better Business Bureau has received several com- American International Gemological Labs, also known as Hubanks said he was unsure if the injunction applied to
plaints from Westfield customers who claim appraisals on AIG Labs, that he says has been a thorn in his side. Monteau Ronen Varsha or his company.
items they sell are grossly inflated, leading the company has registered variations on the competing website’s name Varsha said in an email that at the time of the suit he
to receive an overall D+ grade from the BBB. Dozens more and redirected them to his own. But the competitor’s bare- worked as a freelance auctioneer and independent contrac-
have been registered on other consumer-fraud websites. bones website features no office hours, contact phone or in- tor, and he was not an owner or officer of Kingston Auctions.
On the BBB website, one customer reported paying $2,275 formation about its owners or appraisers, and the domain Varsha said he doesn’t have any more auctions scheduled
for a piece of jewelry that was appraised at $14,225. How- registration is private — while the listed office address is in Tiburon but indicated he plans to do business in Tiburon
ever, the customer claimed that when they took it to get their actually for the Manhattan flagship store and headquarters again in the future.
own official appraisal, it was only worth $120. of jeweler Jacob & Co.
That customer said the complaint was ultimately resolved While Westfield has sold jewelry appraised by both com- Reporter Matthew Hose covers the city of Belvedere, as well
to their satisfaction. panies, it’s unclear if consumers complaining about inflated as crime, courts and public safety issues on the Tiburon
Another customer reported buying earrings appraised at appraisals by “AIG Labs” were referring Monteau’s work or Peninsula. Reach him at 415-944-4627 and on Twitter at
$11,000 that only ended up being worth $200. The business the similarly named company. @matt_hose.
never responded to that issue.
Varsha said the company strives for good customer ser-
vice.
“Our utmost goal is to make our customers happy and it
is our policy to remedy their issues promptly,” Varsha said
In Memoriam
in an email.
Gerald (Jerry) Martin just about anything, and years, Barbara Bennett
The “About” menu of Westfield’s website includes a “Guar- Romain helped countless people (Romain), MD. He is also
antee” section that states the company has “partnered with April 4, 1944 – throughout his life with survived by his children
several industry nonprofits in order to guarantee the authen- January 26, 2017 this unique skill. Jerry Michael (Sibrina) Romain
ticity of the valuable items we auction off to the public.” Jerry Romain, a 30-year was a giving man whose and Laura (Brian) Jacobs;
Tiburon resident, passed biggest pride was to help his grandchildren Kylie,
However, Varsha said that customers at his auctions sign people through these tan- Nolan, Alana and Grif-
away peacefully on Janu-
forms saying they understand the company does not guar- ary 26, 2017, surrounded gible efforts. fin; and his sister, Renee
antee the accuracy of an item’s appraisal, which is done by by family. Jerry was active in the Wynn. He was preceded
a third party, and the buyer acknowledges they are buying Born in Minneapolis, community, a proud in death by his parents,
the jewelry based on the price it is sold for and not on the Minnesota, and raised in member of the Marin Tip Martin and Loraine
Denver, Colorado, Jerry Club and a volunteer at Romain, and his brother,
appraised value. the Tiburon Railroad & Tommy Romain.
had an avid curiosity for
“All potential customers sign in three places twice prior understanding how things Ferry Depot Museum. He A celebration of Jerry’s
to bidding and once after they check out, stating that we do worked. By the age of enjoyed spending time life will be held on Sun-
not guarantee the appraisal value,” Varsha said in an email. 12, he and his brother, in Maui with family and day, February 26, 2017,
when the first computers friends, and could spend
“Furthermore, auctioneer specifically notates (sic) verbally Tommy, had figured out from 3-5:30 pm at the Mill
how to rewire their house. were being built. After hours watching the ocean. Valley Recreation Center,
that we do not guarantee appraisal value.” Jerry later relocated a 26-year tenure at IBM, He was an excellent chef 180 Camino Alto.
Further, at least one of the five appraisers listed on the to the San Francisco Bay Jerry continued his tech- and loved to cook for his In lieu of flowers,
Westfield site says he does not work directly with the auc- Area, where he served in nology career and became family. memorial donations may
tion company and is in no way a partner. the U.S. Army. He started a general contractor. Jerry is survived by be made to the charity of
“Whoever may be consigning with (Westfield) may be working for IBM in 1966, He could build and fix his loving wife of 41 your choice.
consigning our appraisals that we did for them to this auc-
To place a paid notice, visit thearknewspaper.com/obituaries.html or call 415-435-2652.
tion company, but we haven’t been hired by them to do any-